Optical band gap, photocatalysis, surface structures and depth profile properties of Cu2Se nanostructured thin films

Abstract

The optical behaviour, stoichiometry, surface configuration of Cu2Se nanostructured thin layers prepared at different reaction times by the chemical process has been considered. The optical band gap of the deposited thin films decreases from 2.92 eV to 2.08 eV for the first transition and from 2.18 to 1.2 eV for the second transition. In addition, it was shown that Urbach energy is independent from the film thickness, and tail values of the localized states has decreased from 1.15 to 0.33 eV. It was found that the concentration of Cu: Se remains approximately constant across the depth of the deposited film at higher deposition time. The degradation efficiency of 98% was achieved by Congo red for the prepared Cu2Se thin film at optimal condition which make it a good candidate for organic dye. From these measurements and by controlling the band gap energy, the Cu2Se can find application in solar cell application.